travels: plus & minus.

[subjective]

from california:

+ meeting jactitation who was a great tour guide, very generous, & who allowed me to pick her brain about ta'ing for at least an hour or two.
+ every single person i met at uc davis was really nice, personable, encouraging, enthusiastic. esp the person i've had my eye on to be an advisor.
+ put a deposit down on an apartment. it is not far from campus & includes hot water, cable tv & wireless internet. however it is carpeted (down with carpet!) & has no counter space in the kitchen. but will do for the first year & what a relief that i have a place to live now.
+ john & peg were great hosts & took me to the fancy upscale farmers market where i drooled over the gorgeous produce. soon the wonders of california produce will be mine! also they fed me good food & drove me to the airport at an ungodly hour. gold stars all around.
+ brunch with filmstills whom i hadn't seen in over two years. we plotted her next movie. ;)

- spent an inordinate amount of time on campus doing the pronoun corrections. bah. worried about what this means for fall, & how to deal with it in teaching.
- horrendous flight problems that had me stuck in d.c. for 5+ hours, not knowing whether i'd have to get a hotel or not, leaving frantic & tearful messages for j & nimmy at regular intervals.


from minneapolis:

+ meeting annaclaire who is totally funny & has like the best laugh ever-- hearty & genuine.
+ getting to hear misscallis give substitute teaching anecdotes in person!
+ the mall of america & its internal theme park, camp snoopy. great googly moogly, that place is overwhelming. i was excited to see it but i think i will probably never go back. ericka made a new friend in line on the roller coaster. ;) my favorite part: legoland, which featured enormous lego statues of dinosaurs, pirate ships & harry potter. cheryljill and redhoodedm took some seriously good pictures that i'm sure will be scanned & posted eventually. the moa is teeming with photo opportunities.
+ i got a copy of the book that katio co-edited, & woo! my essay is in it!
+ katia, anna claire & i spent at least an hour playing this at the arcade on saturday night. we became quite obsessed & i became uncharacteristically competitive.
+ erickapander became a wife in front of my very eyes! ;) everyone dressed up & looked totally hott, i got to wear a tie. i was so fucking impressed with the vows she & b wrote. also this is the first wedding i've ever been to which did not involve either church or state & hi it was so damn good. also, ericka, i totally fell in love with your family, they were awesome.
+ being around a lot of people i'd never met before & seriously, never once worrying about gender stuff with them, probably because i have a lot of trust in the people i did already know, feeling like they were on top of shit & being aware & stuff. actually i'm not sure if this has ever happened before. it meant a lot (thanks).

- freckin' flight delays can go to hell.
- i am really really really sick of traveling & airplanes. really.

Comments

[skittish.livejournal.com]

it was really nice to meet you even thought i didn't actually talk to you that much. i'm just quiet like that around people i don't know.

i know what you mean about kelli's stories. :)

[subjective.livejournal.com]

i wasn't being all that talkative either! i'm glad we finally got to meet. i'm sorry to hear about your grandma.

[skittish.livejournal.com]

yeah, the same people seemed to be talking most of the time. i don't think marissa and i said a word to each other and she seemed really cool. oh well.

thanks, about my grandma.

[autosuggestion.livejournal.com]

Oh Mister Toby, adorable as always. You have the best hair.

[subjective.livejournal.com]

thank you. i am also a twelve year old dork (http://panderzinedistro.com/wedding/t_elevator.jpg).

[mala106.livejournal.com]

yes, but you're MY twelve year old dork. ;)

[erickapander.livejournal.com]

ewwww!! ;)

[erickapander.livejournal.com]

by the way, brian just told me that jeff, his best man, asked "who's the kid?" brian told him you were at least 21 & jeff was apparently shocked ;).

[subjective.livejournal.com]

the kid! haha, poor jeff.
i'm 26 in eight days! woo!

[srl.livejournal.com]

Woo! happy birthday!

I'm 26 in... 7 weeks or so. (July 31)

[erickapander.livejournal.com]

oh shit, i hate to say this, but we didn't write those awesome vows! :( i hope you're not disappointed! brian found them after much research, they're traditional irish vows. i hope you're still impressed regardless ;) haha.

everyone loved my family! i'm so excited about that! they're pretty great, i like 'em :).

[subjective.livejournal.com]

still impressed. actually, it's WAY impressive that "traditional" vows would be so progressive & equity-based.

i was raving about your mom & sister to nimmy last night. it was so obvious how much they love & support you. <3

[erickapander.livejournal.com]

actually, it's WAY impressive that "traditional" vows would be so progressive & equity-based.

i know, right. we were so excited about finding them! we only changed one word: "meat" was out, "bread" was in ;).

[skittish.livejournal.com]

wow, i was thinking you two or erin wrote the vows. i'm also very impressed that they were traditional vows.

of course, i guess you could leave them at "meat" since brian has FALLEN from his vegetarianism. heh.

Re:

[erickapander.livejournal.com]

haha ;) yes, my longtime vegetarian husband (i almost wrote boyfriend!) fell off the wagon ONCE. ON A SPECIAL OCCASION. he said the fish & chips wasn't as good as he'd hoped/expected. i don't expect i'll ever see him eat meat again.

[srl.livejournal.com]

Do you have the text of the vows online somewhere?

Re:

[erickapander.livejournal.com]

"You cannot possess me for I belong to myself
But while we both wish it, I give you that which is mine to give
You cannot command me, for I am a free person
But I shall serve you in those ways you require
and the honeycomb will taste sweeter coming from my hand

I pledge to you that yours will be the name I cry aloud in the night and
the eyes into which I smile in the morning
I pledge to you the first bite of my bread and the first drink from my cup
I pledge to you my living and my dying, each equally in your care
I shall be a shield for your back and you for mine
I shall not slander you, nor you me
I shall honor you above all others, and when we quarrel we shall do so in
private and tell no strangers our grievances

This is my wedding vow to you
This is the marriage of equals."

[mala106.livejournal.com]

those vows are so great.

[srl.livejournal.com]

Thanks.

[andj.livejournal.com]

You really remind me of my younger brother in the tie picture. (My brother is good-looking, and I can say that even though I'm his sister.)

;)

[subjective.livejournal.com]

hey thanks!

[jactitation.livejournal.com]

It was super to meet you, Toby, and I can't wait to talk about the South, age, and gender when you get here. And cable?!! YAY! I'm coming over. ;-)

[subjective.livejournal.com]

yah, come on over! i'm so out of the habit of watching tv.

[cheryljill.livejournal.com]

i can't wait to see pictures from mall of america! i'm sure there will be much giggling when i see them.

it was so good to spend some time with you. :)